Seven reasons why you should be buying British furniture

The referendum split the UK down the middle, but one positive outcome has been the new focus on British trade and the exciting possibilities ahead. Here are some of the many reasons to buy British.

1. Keeping skills alive

Every time you buy British goods made by talented workers in this country, you are not just keeping British people in jobs but also helping to keep skills alive.

Many of these skills have been handed down from one generation to the next. A company such as Plumbs, for instance, employs a hand-picked roster of dedicated master upholsterers in its upholstery unit in Preston. For them, the job is a passion as well as a profession.

2. Great service

If everything is sourced and made in the UK, companies can double and triple-check to make sure that all stages of the service run like clockwork and that everything meets the high-level British safety standard. If anything goes wrong in the process, it is much easier to redress.

Sew good: companies can check that everything meets the British safety standard

3. Quality

Globalisation has provided some amazing opportunities, but it has also changed the mentality of many businesses.

The philosophy has become about making as many goods in as short a time as possible. Many of these goods may be of shoddy quality. There is also a growing ennui with the idea of endless consumerism.

People are adopting a “less is more ethos” and are happy to buy something that’s beautiful but slightly more expensive if it will last longer.

4. Carbon footprint

The UK faces a huge energy challenge. It’s easy to forget the high levels of carbon emissions that come from transport. Buying goods and services created in this country can help to protect the environment for future generations. There are those who claim they don’t notice any change in our climate, but our grandchildren certainly will notice our devastating legacy if we don’t do something now.

Hammer time: buying British can help protect the environment

5. Clear conscience

By buying in the UK, you don’t have to worry about ethical sourcing. For instance, Plumbs works with UK-based company Swaffer, which creates an extensive range of exclusive quality furnishing fabrics.

Swaffer applies the minimum wage and maintains the high standard of working conditions you’d expect from a British company.

You can’t always be sure what worker hardships have been endured when you buy products from companies that operate cheaply abroad.

6. Knock-on effect

If you choose to buy British-made products you will influence others to do the same. One of the biggest problems holding back a resurgence in UK manufacturing has been a skills shortage.

The fabric of life: there is a rising demand for British-made goods

This is starting to change now that there is rising demand for goods with a “Made in Britain” label. Where once this was seen as a warning sign for shoppers, it is increasingly perceived as a promise of quality.

7. Creating communities

People have a deep emotional connection with the word “local”. Positive terms such as “quality”, “trustworthy” and “authentic” spring to mind when you think of companies with grass roots in your area.

It’s nice to think of Tom and Bernice Plumb who started a market stall in Blackburn in 1953 selling a selection of decorative cushions, antimacassars and settee arm covers.

Three generations of the Plumbs family currently work across all areas of marketing, sales and production and they are proud to be continuing their original concept of an all-British manufacturing process.

To work with a British family firm with over 50 years’ experience, visit plumbs.co.uk